Julius Caesar was born into an aristocratic family in 100 BC and rapidly rose even higher as he accomplished astounding military achievements. Every triumph that he caused added to the wealth of the Roman people. He founded a triumverate with Pompey and Crassus which was toppled after the death of Crassus when Pompey the Great and Caesar battled for complete control. He continued to conquer for Rome but was assassinated by the Pompey-supporting senate, which despised the way he was moving power away from a small group of elites.
The play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare was written in part as a political statement. Shakespeare made the play in the Elizabethan Era when Queen Elizabeth needed to step up as a powerful monarch, so he paints a rather noble picture of Caesar in his play.
The first scene of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare shows how selfish the senators are yet also how easily swayed the commoners are. The tradesmen are appreciative of the wealth Caesar brings to Rome. They also suggest in taunting words that the senators are corrupted, but change their views about Caesar when ordered to by the senators. The commoners are loyal to wealth, so it does not matter to them who is in power. The nobles have a say in government, however, so they ignore the money Caesar wins for the Romans as they oppose his rise in the government. They fear that he will "soar above the view of men" (1.1.79) due to his popularity among the common folk. The loyalty to money gives Julius Caesar wings and feathers. The senators are more corrupt in their loyalties, however, because they support only their personal power instead of the prosperity of the whole empire.
Closing Scene
In the final scene of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare behaves as the catharsis for the tragedy of Brutus. He is convinced to murder his best friend and then Caesar returns to him as a ghost in his vision and he realizes his mistake. Brutus would do anything to retain his reputation for honor. Antony and Octavius end the play by remarking on how honorable he was. Brutus shows the audience that even the most honorable man in Rome may make a deadly decision. This also could allude to how Mark Antony idolizes Brutus for trying to usurp Caesar in the same way that he wants to take power from Octavius. Mark Antony will continue to cycle of trying to kill a close friend and will die because of it.
Funeral Speech Comparison
In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony delivers a more powerful speech than Marcus Brutus by utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos more effectively. While Brutus uses his mere reputation, Antony creates a foundation for his speech by establishing his personal friendship with Caesar as a more educated perspective of Julius Caesar's true character. Brutus insists that the citizens should "believe me for mine honour" (3.2.15-6). Instead of providing evidence for Caesar's guilt, Brutus hopes that the audience will believe his every word simply because many Romans refer to him as honorable. Antony on the other hand establishes ethos by insisting that he has a more informed view of Caesar, who ws his "friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man" (3.2.94-6). By bringing up their friendship, Antony is stating that he is a better judge of Caesar's intentions. He also ironically stressed Brutus being an "honourable man" to mock his ethos. Both speakers also use empathy to win the crowd. Brutus makes it known to the crowd that Caesar was his "best lover" (3.2.50) and how if a member of the crowd loved Caesar, then "Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his" (3.2.22-3). Brutus wants the crowd to know how difficult killing Caesar was emotionally. The spectators should pity him and believe that there must have been a powerful reason for Brutus to turn on his "best lover." Antony appeals to the crowd's emotions as well by dramatically reminding them how "You all did love him once" (3.2.115). Mark Antony is prompting the citizens to remember that Caesar never did anything to deserve less than love. Brutus claims that although Caesar never acted against the Romans, his ambition would make him a villainous tyrant. He asks "Had you rather Caesar were lising and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?" (3.2.26-8). Brutus insists that it is lovical that Caesar had to die for the Romans to profit. Antony, however, disaggrees, and proves Brutus wrong by providing examples where Caesar did not choose the path of selfishness. Antony reminds the crowd that they "all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse" (3.2.99-101). He also explains how Caesar brought riches to the Romans and how Caesar has a will that makes all of the citizens of Rome his heirs. Antony reasons that an ambitious man deserving an assassination would not "thrice refuse" power over Rome. Mark Antony is more convincing than Brutus in his use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
Character Analyses
Brutus
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Brutus is blinded by pride in an identical way to Caesar. He supports senators that manipulate Caesar through flattery while being blatantly flattered himself. Brutus believes that he is honorable, so he does anything that sounds honorable. Brutus admits that "I know no personal cause to spurn at him" (2.1.11). There is an absence of reasonable evidence to support Cassius' claim that Caesar will become a tyrant, but Cassius stages a flattery by the citizens of Rome that suggests to Brutus that if he does not join the conspiracy then he is not honorable, and this is cause enough for him. Later he is visited multiple times by the ghost of Caesar and understands that there is no way that his dear friend would have betrayed Rome that way.
Cassius
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Cassius is a suicidal yet manipulative senator who causes Brutus to doubt his allegiance to Caesar. He is constantly facing a personal dilemma of killing Caesar or himself. At the beginning of the play, he takes off his robes and taunts a lightning storm to kill him if he is wrong. Because he emerges unscathed, he decides that Caesar must be the correct person to kill. He also almost stabs himself while trying to convince someone to join his conspiracy because he realizes that Caesar could become the king and enslave him. He eventually does commit suicide when he misinterprets the reception of his messenger, who turns out to be welcomed due to a victory. Cassius possibly caused the entire chain of events simply to cause his own demise, shown when he is killed by his slave Pindarius and says "Caesar thou art revenged, even with the sword that kill'd thee" (5.3.53-4). His final words make it unclear whether or not Cassius truly wanted Caesar to die. He realizes too late that he made such a powerful mistake that to fix it he has to suffer the same fate as Caesar.
Caesar
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Caesar is blinded by his pride to the extent where he believes that he is invincible. He knows that there is a conspiracy and is given signs by clues and friends but he still meets the conspirators at their demand because they flattered him with the idea of presenting him with a crown if he did not stay home. They also insulted his pride by saying that if he stayed home that day then the great leader of Rome would be listening to a mere woman's dream. Julius Caesar arrogantly leaves, believing that "danger knows full well that Caesar is more dangerous than he" (2.2.49-50). Caesar speaks in third person often as well, which is another common sign of arrogance. In the end, he continues this trend and narrates his own death as if he were in control. His pride killed him.
Antony
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Antony is an opportunist who uses both tragic and celebratory events as openings to gian power. Mark Antony is called a reveller because he consistently spends the nights attending parties and utilizing his bonds with Caesar. When Julius Caesar dies, he creates a powerful and persuasive funeral speech in which he calls for the deaths of the conspirators along with innocent senators as well, which could be because it is an easy excuse to eliminate political rivals. In response to Lepidus announcing that Antony's nephew had to be killed in the purge of those guilty for Caesar's death, he responds "He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him" (4.1.6). The new triumvirate is even more power hungry than the first one, and given the opportunity, Mark Antony has become the tyrant that Caesar was feared to be. He is flicking his wrist and adding targets with a "spot." Lepidus is a clear third wheel in the triumvirate, so Octavius is the final barrier before his complete control of Rome, and he realizes that behaving like Brutus could give him an opportunity to take action and strike preemptively.
John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1838 to Junius Brutus Booth, which is quite an ironic name because John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln similar to how Brutus assassinated Julius Caesar. Booth acted in multiple plays by Shakespeare, and claimed that he was "determined to be a villain." He was involved in a conspiracy to kidnap Lincoln, but the president did not show up in the expected area. While the president was watching a play in the theater that he frequented, Booth shot him and fled for twelve days before being killed himself. This parallels how Brutus is forced to flee after killing Caesar and ends up dying to escape capture.
In Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, Plagueis and Palpatine have a relationship that alludes to that of Caesar and Brutus from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. In the Star Wars universe, the Sith always rule in pairs of a master and an apprentice. This is similar to how the Romans ruled with co-consuls with rare cases of triumvirates. Darth Plagueis is a Sith Lord who secretly controls most of the universe's wealth and power through his web of banking clans and connections to other families who received their power from loans that he gave them. He takes on an apprentice in the form of Palpatine, renaming him Darth Sidious. Crippled by injuries to his breathing, Plagueis requires a custom-built breathing apparatus and spends his time on a privately owned planet testing on exotic and expensive beasts, trying to find the secret to eternal life. Julius Caesar is also crippled by epilepsy, and goes into fits randomly. Generously, Plagueis gives Sidious the opportunity to become Emperor Palpatine, because the Sith Lord has finally amassed enough influence to control the election of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate, and he wants his apprentice to become the chancellor and usurp the senate to become a dictator while Plagueis secretly controls the actions from the shadows. Instead of becoming a puppet leader, Palpatine grows jealous of Plagueis like Brutus grows jealous of Caesar. Brutus lures Caesar to his doom by claiming that the senate wants to crown him king. In turn, Palpatine toasts to Plagueis' impending control of the Galactic Senate through him. Darth Plagueis drinks too much and
becomes drowsy. He has not slept for years, because his breathing apparatus requires his constant control to function properly. Defiantly and foolishly brave, Plagueis realizes that he may finally test his genetic alterations that could have made him immortal. When Sidious uses Sith lightning to shock the mask into no longer functioning, Plagueis does not fight back. He, like Caesar, decides that if his friend is trying to kill him then they should not be punished. He feels more powerful than death itself, similar to how Julius Caesar calls for danger to fear him. Plagueis' genetic testing is incomplete and fails, so Sidious becomes the Supreme Chancellor and later on the emperor, but also the Sith Lord in the Rule of Two with an apprentice of his own. Sidious becomes oblivious to the anger and rebellion of his own apprentice like how Brutus is oblivious to how gullible he is being after deceiving Caesar.
Luceno, James. Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. New York: Del Rey/Ballantine, 2012. Print.
"Faded"
You were the shadow to my lightDid you feel us?Another startYou fade awayAfraid our aim is out of sightWanna see usAlive Where are you now?Where are you now?Where are you now?Was it all in my fantasy?Where are you now?Were you only imaginary? Where are you now?AtlantisUnder the seaUnder the seaWhere are you now?Another dreamThe monster's running wild inside of meI'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm faded These shallow waters never met what I neededI'm letting go a deeper diveEternal silence of the sea. I'm breathing alive Where are you now?Where are you now?Under the bright but faded lightsYou've set my heart on fireWhere are you now?Where are you now? Where are you now?AtlantisUnder the seaUnder the seaWhere are you now?Another dreamThe monster's running wild inside of meI'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm faded Sample
The song "Faded" by Alan Walker follows the same path that Marcus Brutus does in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. The song explores a rather close relationship where the narrator has lost someone and is alone for the first time, going crazy and running away from their reality. "Faded" describes how Brutus feels when he is on the run with his army and encounters Caesar's ghost. He questions whether or not assassinating his friend was justified or not, which is reflected in "The monster's running wild inside of me." The "monster" also refers to how noble Brutus is suddenly on the run and is no longer respected by the Romans anymore. The song is about a lonely figure in a post-apocalyptic environment where he explores. Marcus Brutus also runs away from society to escape the new triumvirate, and the apocalypse is Caesar's death.
Julius Caesar
Table of Contents
by William Shakespeare
History
Julius Caesar was born into an aristocratic family in 100 BC and rapidly rose even higher as he accomplished astounding military achievements. Every triumph that he caused added to the wealth of the Roman people. He founded a triumverate with Pompey and Crassus which was toppled after the death of Crassus when Pompey the Great and Caesar battled for complete control. He continued to conquer for Rome but was assassinated by the Pompey-supporting senate, which despised the way he was moving power away from a small group of elites.History.com Staff. "Julius Caesar." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
The play Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare was written in part as a political statement. Shakespeare made the play in the Elizabethan Era when Queen Elizabeth needed to step up as a powerful monarch, so he paints a rather noble picture of Caesar in his play.
"Elizabethan Era." ELIZABETHAN ERA. Web. 12 Apr. 2016.
Opening Scene
The first scene of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare shows how selfish the senators are yet also how easily swayed the commoners are. The tradesmen are appreciative of the wealth Caesar brings to Rome. They also suggest in taunting words that the senators are corrupted, but change their views about Caesar when ordered to by the senators. The commoners are loyal to wealth, so it does not matter to them who is in power. The nobles have a say in government, however, so they ignore the money Caesar wins for the Romans as they oppose his rise in the government. They fear that he will "soar above the view of men" (1.1.79) due to his popularity among the common folk. The loyalty to money gives Julius Caesar wings and feathers. The senators are more corrupt in their loyalties, however, because they support only their personal power instead of the prosperity of the whole empire.Closing Scene
In the final scene of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare behaves as the catharsis for the tragedy of Brutus. He is convinced to murder his best friend and then Caesar returns to him as a ghost in his vision and he realizes his mistake. Brutus would do anything to retain his reputation for honor. Antony and Octavius end the play by remarking on how honorable he was. Brutus shows the audience that even the most honorable man in Rome may make a deadly decision. This also could allude to how Mark Antony idolizes Brutus for trying to usurp Caesar in the same way that he wants to take power from Octavius. Mark Antony will continue to cycle of trying to kill a close friend and will die because of it.Funeral Speech Comparison
In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony delivers a more powerful speech than Marcus Brutus by utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos more effectively. While Brutus uses his mere reputation, Antony creates a foundation for his speech by establishing his personal friendship with Caesar as a more educated perspective of Julius Caesar's true character. Brutus insists that the citizens should "believe me for mine honour" (3.2.15-6). Instead of providing evidence for Caesar's guilt, Brutus hopes that the audience will believe his every word simply because many Romans refer to him as honorable. Antony on the other hand establishes ethos by insisting that he has a more informed view of Caesar, who ws his "friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man" (3.2.94-6). By bringing up their friendship, Antony is stating that he is a better judge of Caesar's intentions. He also ironically stressed Brutus being an "honourable man" to mock his ethos. Both speakers also use empathy to win the crowd. Brutus makes it known to the crowd that Caesar was his "best lover" (3.2.50) and how if a member of the crowd loved Caesar, then "Brutus' love to Caesar was no less than his" (3.2.22-3). Brutus wants the crowd to know how difficult killing Caesar was emotionally. The spectators should pity him and believe that there must have been a powerful reason for Brutus to turn on his "best lover." Antony appeals to the crowd's emotions as well by dramatically reminding them how "You all did love him once" (3.2.115). Mark Antony is prompting the citizens to remember that Caesar never did anything to deserve less than love. Brutus claims that although Caesar never acted against the Romans, his ambition would make him a villainous tyrant. He asks "Had you rather Caesar were lising and die all slaves, than that Caesar were dead, to live all free men?" (3.2.26-8). Brutus insists that it is lovical that Caesar had to die for the Romans to profit. Antony, however, disaggrees, and proves Brutus wrong by providing examples where Caesar did not choose the path of selfishness. Antony reminds the crowd that they "all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse" (3.2.99-101). He also explains how Caesar brought riches to the Romans and how Caesar has a will that makes all of the citizens of Rome his heirs. Antony reasons that an ambitious man deserving an assassination would not "thrice refuse" power over Rome. Mark Antony is more convincing than Brutus in his use of ethos, pathos, and logos.Character Analyses
Brutus
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Brutus is blinded by pride in an identical way to Caesar. He supports senators that manipulate Caesar through flattery while being blatantly flattered himself. Brutus believes that he is honorable, so he does anything that sounds honorable. Brutus admits that "I know no personal cause to spurn at him" (2.1.11). There is an absence of reasonable evidence to support Cassius' claim that Caesar will become a tyrant, but Cassius stages a flattery by the citizens of Rome that suggests to Brutus that if he does not join the conspiracy then he is not honorable, and this is cause enough for him. Later he is visited multiple times by the ghost of Caesar and understands that there is no way that his dear friend would have betrayed Rome that way.Cassius
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Cassius is a suicidal yet manipulative senator who causes Brutus to doubt his allegiance to Caesar. He is constantly facing a personal dilemma of killing Caesar or himself. At the beginning of the play, he takes off his robes and taunts a lightning storm to kill him if he is wrong. Because he emerges unscathed, he decides that Caesar must be the correct person to kill. He also almost stabs himself while trying to convince someone to join his conspiracy because he realizes that Caesar could become the king and enslave him. He eventually does commit suicide when he misinterprets the reception of his messenger, who turns out to be welcomed due to a victory. Cassius possibly caused the entire chain of events simply to cause his own demise, shown when he is killed by his slave Pindarius and says "Caesar thou art revenged, even with the sword that kill'd thee" (5.3.53-4). His final words make it unclear whether or not Cassius truly wanted Caesar to die. He realizes too late that he made such a powerful mistake that to fix it he has to suffer the same fate as Caesar.Caesar
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Caesar is blinded by his pride to the extent where he believes that he is invincible. He knows that there is a conspiracy and is given signs by clues and friends but he still meets the conspirators at their demand because they flattered him with the idea of presenting him with a crown if he did not stay home. They also insulted his pride by saying that if he stayed home that day then the great leader of Rome would be listening to a mere woman's dream. Julius Caesar arrogantly leaves, believing that "danger knows full well that Caesar is more dangerous than he" (2.2.49-50). Caesar speaks in third person often as well, which is another common sign of arrogance. In the end, he continues this trend and narrates his own death as if he were in control. His pride killed him.Antony
In Julius Caesar by Shakespeare, Antony is an opportunist who uses both tragic and celebratory events as openings to gian power. Mark Antony is called a reveller because he consistently spends the nights attending parties and utilizing his bonds with Caesar. When Julius Caesar dies, he creates a powerful and persuasive funeral speech in which he calls for the deaths of the conspirators along with innocent senators as well, which could be because it is an easy excuse to eliminate political rivals. In response to Lepidus announcing that Antony's nephew had to be killed in the purge of those guilty for Caesar's death, he responds "He shall not live; look, with a spot I damn him" (4.1.6). The new triumvirate is even more power hungry than the first one, and given the opportunity, Mark Antony has become the tyrant that Caesar was feared to be. He is flicking his wrist and adding targets with a "spot." Lepidus is a clear third wheel in the triumvirate, so Octavius is the final barrier before his complete control of Rome, and he realizes that behaving like Brutus could give him an opportunity to take action and strike preemptively.John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth was born in 1838 to Junius Brutus Booth, which is quite an ironic name because John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln similar to how Brutus assassinated Julius Caesar. Booth acted in multiple plays by Shakespeare, and claimed that he was "determined to be a villain." He was involved in a conspiracy to kidnap Lincoln, but the president did not show up in the expected area. While the president was watching a play in the theater that he frequented, Booth shot him and fled for twelve days before being killed himself. This parallels how Brutus is forced to flee after killing Caesar and ends up dying to escape capture.
"John Wilkes Booth." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 13 Apr. 2016.
Allusions
Star Wars: Darth Plagueis
In Star Wars: Darth Plagueis by James Luceno, Plagueis and Palpatine have a relationship that alludes to that of Caesar and Brutus from Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. In the Star Wars universe, the Sith always rule in pairs of a master and an apprentice. This is similar to how the Romans ruled with co-consuls with rare cases of triumvirates. Darth Plagueis is a Sith Lord who secretly controls most of the universe's wealth and power through his web of banking clans and connections to other families who received their power from loans that he gave them. He takes on an apprentice in the form of Palpatine, renaming him Darth Sidious. Crippled by injuries to his breathing, Plagueis requires a custom-built breathing apparatus and spends his time on a privately owned planet testing on exotic and expensive beasts, trying to find the secret to eternal life. Julius Caesar is also crippled by epilepsy, and goes into fits randomly. Generously, Plagueis gives Sidious the opportunity to become Emperor Palpatine, because the Sith Lord has finally amassed enough influence to control the election of Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate, and he wants his apprentice to become the chancellor and usurp the senate to become a dictator while Plagueis secretly controls the actions from the shadows. Instead of becoming a puppet leader, Palpatine grows jealous of Plagueis like Brutus grows jealous of Caesar. Brutus lures Caesar to his doom by claiming that the senate wants to crown him king. In turn, Palpatine toasts to Plagueis' impending control of the Galactic Senate through him. Darth Plagueis drinks too much andbecomes drowsy. He has not slept for years, because his breathing apparatus requires his constant control to function properly. Defiantly and foolishly brave, Plagueis realizes that he may finally test his genetic alterations that could have made him immortal. When Sidious uses Sith lightning to shock the mask into no longer functioning, Plagueis does not fight back. He, like Caesar, decides that if his friend is trying to kill him then they should not be punished. He feels more powerful than death itself, similar to how Julius Caesar calls for danger to fear him. Plagueis' genetic testing is incomplete and fails, so Sidious becomes the Supreme Chancellor and later on the emperor, but also the Sith Lord in the Rule of Two with an apprentice of his own. Sidious becomes oblivious to the anger and rebellion of his own apprentice like how Brutus is oblivious to how gullible he is being after deceiving Caesar.
Luceno, James. Star Wars: Darth Plagueis. New York: Del Rey/Ballantine, 2012. Print.
"Faded"
You were the shadow to my lightDid you feel us?Another startYou fade awayAfraid our aim is out of sightWanna see usAlive
Where are you now?Where are you now?Where are you now?Was it all in my fantasy?Where are you now?Were you only imaginary?
Where are you now?AtlantisUnder the seaUnder the seaWhere are you now?Another dreamThe monster's running wild inside of meI'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm faded
These shallow waters never met what I neededI'm letting go a deeper diveEternal silence of the sea. I'm breathing alive
Where are you now?Where are you now?Under the bright but faded lightsYou've set my heart on fireWhere are you now?Where are you now?
Where are you now?AtlantisUnder the seaUnder the seaWhere are you now?Another dreamThe monster's running wild inside of meI'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm fadedI'm fadedSo lost, I'm faded
Sample
The song "Faded" by Alan Walker follows the same path that Marcus Brutus does in Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. The song explores a rather close relationship where the narrator has lost someone and is alone for the first time, going crazy and running away from their reality. "Faded" describes how Brutus feels when he is on the run with his army and encounters Caesar's ghost. He questions whether or not assassinating his friend was justified or not, which is reflected in "The monster's running wild inside of me." The "monster" also refers to how noble Brutus is suddenly on the run and is no longer respected by the Romans anymore. The song is about a lonely figure in a post-apocalyptic environment where he explores. Marcus Brutus also runs away from society to escape the new triumvirate, and the apocalypse is Caesar's death.